1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector in which plural male sub-connectors are mounted to a holding member so as to be connected collectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional connector for assembling plural sub-connectors is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-274180.
This connector is constituted so that plural male sub-connectors housing plural terminals are amounted to a first frame so as to be arranged sideways, and female sub-connectors corresponding to the male sub-connectors are mounted to a second frame so as to be arranged sideways. The male sub-connectors and the female sub-connectors are fixed to the first and second frames respectively by bending engagement pieces having hinges provided on the frames. Moreover, slip-off prevention spacers are inserted respectively into the sub-connectors so as to prevent the sub-connectors from slipping out of the frames. In the connector having such a structure, the first and second frames are mounted by screwing a bolt section into a female thread section and caulking the bolt section. As a result, the male and female sub-connectors are fitted into each other.
In addition, a convention connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-310200 is constituted so that plural male sub-connectors are mounted around the center of a first frame, and female sub-connectors are mounted to positions of a second frame which match with the male sub-connectors, and the first and second frames are assembled. As a result, a multipolar connector is obtained.
These connectors can be miniaturized by mounting plural male sub-connectors housing plural terminals even in the case of a multipolar connector. A lance, which is engaged with terminals so as to prevent the terminals from slipping off, is provided to the male sub-connector.
However, since a multipolar (connector disagrees with miniaturization of a connector, in a connector which satisfies both a multipolar structure and miniaturization, strength of the structure is deteriorated. For this reason, a lance which prevents terminals from slipping off is weakened, and an engagement member for fixing sub-connectors to a frame is also weakened. Further, deformation and rise due to the weakening easily occur, and thus a holding force of the terminals is lowered. Therefore, there arises a new problem that the terminals slip off easily.